Who Should Be the Judge of Middle Class?

Paul Taylor is the executive vice president of the Pew Research Center, which has conducted survey research about the middle class and about experiences in the recession.

Updated December 23, 2010, 6:32 PM

Half of the American public considers itself middle class.

If you toss in those who call themselves upper-middle class (18 percent) or lower-middle class (21 percent), the share swells to nearly 9 in 10. Just a fraction of the public labels itself upper class (2 percent) or lower class (8 percent).

Just a fraction of the public labels itself upper class (2 percent) or lower class (8 percent).

These findings are from a Pew Research Center survey taken earlier this year. But they could have come from just about any survey conducted since the dawn of public opinion research. This is a measure that stays pretty constant, in good times and bad.

Demographically, those who call themselves middle class resemble the population as a whole. They’re a representative mix of young and old; men and women; married and unmarried; white, black and Hispanic. Similarly, their social and political values resemble those of the full population.

Asked to assess what it takes for a typical family to live a middle class lifestyle, the public measures by a sliding scale. Those whose annual family income is below $40,000 peg the price of admission to the middle class at about $45,000 a year. Those whose family income is above $150,000 say it takes $100,000 a year for a family to live a middle class life.

Given these wide variances, should the definition of middle class be entrusted to the public? Good question. But here’s an even better one: Who else can judge?

“Middle class” is one of those terms that is universally familiar and devilishly elusive. It is both a social and economic construct, and because these domains don’t always align, its borders will always be blurry (where does the impoverished grad student fit?). At its core, middle class is a state of mind. And almost all Americans consider themselves residents. Or at the very least, near neighbors.